We were approached by an emerging Canadian publisher by the name of Dumagrad Books. The name of the press by the way comes from Bulgarian (our native language) and means “word city” or “city of words”. So they just published author David Hull’s first book in ebook format. “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” will also see a print edition on the 21st of September. I was fascinated by the idea of this little novella and so couldn’t say no to reviewing it. Interested in what the book is about and what I think about it? Read on!

What would happen if one day the Moon suddenly disappeared? More over, what would happen if only one man realized that it did and all other people on Earth claim there’s never been such thing as a moon? That’s exactly what David Hull’s novella “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” is about. Although it’s about a bunch of other things, too, like family, love, passion, and even existence. Between the pages of this book one will find what’s the meaning of desperation, but also what’s it like to believe in something so strongly, that nothing, nothing can stand in a person’s way.

The protagonist, Daniel, from which’s point of view we experience the story, realizes one evening that the Moon is not present on the night sky. He is baffled to understand nobody else remembers our natural satellite ever existed in the first place and he is committed in a mental institution for treatment by one Doctor Marvin Pallister. The two of them cannot seem to agree whether Daniel is crazy or if someone (or something) has erased the Moon from every place it’s been referred to in the past. The reader will be pointed to interesting conclusions and theories by Daniel himself which sound so probable, one could start believing in them – whether the Moon has become, or always was, something that cannot be described – like love – and is yet to manifest in man’s thoughts. But why has Daniel known about it his whole life then?

Questions like these permeate throughout the novella. “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” is not your normal everyday read. The author may think it’s just a story, but it’s rather something more – a philosophical read about man; about his desire to know more, to understand the world around him, and what other people perceive.

Things start to look really bizarre when toward the end of the story Dr. Pallister, starts looking deeply into what the protagonist has gathered as research. Daniel has gathered notes on the Moon, it’s oddly lacking mentions in history and so on, and gives them to the doctor. That leads to one of the best plot twists I have recently read in a book or whatever. I don’t have any intention to spoil it for you – read and enjoy it for yourself.

Final thoughts? “The Man Who Remembered the Moon” is a brilliant novella from a promising new author. David Hull gives a prominent nod to other magical realism and contemporary fiction authors before him, and also promises to show us more of what he’s got with his first novel due out next year. It’s just a matter of time to see if he can deliver. I sincerely hope he does.